Ewer
Silversmith: Unidentified
Silver-gilt, embossed, and chased, with cast handle. The sides are decorated with four oval medallions framed and linked by strapwork, each enclosing an allegorical figure of one of the virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity (the theological virtues), and Fortitude (one of the cardinal virtues). Between the medallions, and on the neck are grotesque masks, fruit, nude figures, sea monsters, and water fowl. The shoulder and the lowest part of the bowl are encircled by gadrooning. The handle is in the form of two serpents issuing from a cornucopia. The ewer is accompanied by a wooden box (A) with two brass handles, two half-lids hinged with catches, and lining of red velvet, locking with a key (B)
History note: Leonard Daneham Cunliffe (1860-1937) by whom bequeathed
L.D. Cunliffe Bequest, 1937
Height: 29.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1938-03) by Cunliffe, Leonard Daneham
16th Century, Late
Circa
1585
-
1586
Label text from the exhibition ‘Feast and Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 26 November 2019 until 31 August 2020:This ewer is decorated with four oval medallions containing female personifications of Faith, Hope, and Charity (the three Theological Virtues) and Fortitude (one of the four Cardinal Virtues). They were presumably included as moral exemplars to diners and intended to provoke ‘virtuous’ discussions. The rest of the ewer has less high-brow decoration relating, appropriately, both to water and food in the form of water-fowl and ripe fruit.
Sixteenth-century French silver is mentioned frequently in contemporary inventories, but is now extremely rare. This ewer can be attributed to Paris because it bears the warden's mark of the Paris goldsmiths' guild, which incorporates a year letter for 1585-6. Its antique form with a high handle, and eclectic decoration completely covering the surface are typical of the Mannerist style in silver. The form of the ewer, apart from the handle, is comparable to a design attributed to Etienne Delaune (1518/19-1583) in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. The sides are chased with oval frames enclosing allegorical figures of the three Pauline virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, and one of the four cardinal virtus, Fortitude - an appropriate choice in a period of violent religious strife. It may have been used with a basin for hand washing at table, or have been been displayed on a tiered dressoir (buffet) with other ornate vessels.
Surface
composed of
gold
Box
Depth 15 cm
Height 35.5 cm
Width 23 cm
Foot
Diameter 8.2 cm
Decoration
Handle
Raising : Silver-gilt, with embossed, and chased decoration and cast handle
Accession number: M/P.10-1938
Primary reference Number: 118321
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Ewer" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118321 Accessed: 2025-04-24 18:35:32
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118321
|title=Ewer
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-24 18:35:32|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-118321
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...